Ed-tech startup BYJU’s raises undisclosed amount in a financing round
BYJU’s
Founder: Byju Raveendran
Founded in: 2008
Financing status: Undisclosed amount for a financing round in 2017
Ed-tech startup BYJU’s has raised an undisclosed amount from Chinese internet giant Tencent.
BYJU’s was founded in 2015 by Byju Raveendran. It is one of India’s largest Ed-tech companies. The startup is targeting INR 600 crore (USD 96 million) in revenue this year and is looking to join the unicorn club (a unicorn is a company valued at more than USD 1 billion).
The Bangalore-based startup created India’s largest K-12 learning app, which offers learning programs for students in grades 4-12 (K-12) and competitive exams like JEE, NEET, CAT, IAS, GRE, and GMAT. The startup uses geography-agnostic learning tools that sit at the cross section of mobile and interactive content, and adaptive learning methodologies. The learning app makes use of original content, animations, interactive simulations, and engaging video lessons from selected teachers. It claims to have over 7 million downloads, 3.3 lakh (INR 330,000) annual paid subscriptions, and growth rate of 30,000 students every month. The startup also claims that students spend an average of 40 minutes on the app every day, and that their renewal rates are as high as 90%.
The startup will use the newly raised investment to accelerate product development for new markets and for acquisitions.
Communication platform Noticeboard raises USD 1.2M for seed round
Noticeboard
Founders: Vishal Gahlaut, Vishesh Dahinwal, and Sarath Chandran
Founded in: 2016
Financing status: USD 1.2 million for seed round in 2017
Staff communication platform, Noticeboard, raised USD 1.2 million in a seed round led by Stellaris Venture Partners and other angel investors including BlackBuck founder, Rajesh Yabaji, and YuMe Co-founder, Jayant Kadambi. With this investment Alok Goyal, Partner at Stellaris Venture Partners, will join Noticeboard’s Board of Directors.
Noticeboard was founded in 2016 by Vishal Gahlaut, Vishesh Dahinwal, and Sarath Chandran. All three founders previously worked at Myntra; Vishal serving as Vice President and Platform Head, Vishesh as Head of Logistics, and Sarath as Senior Product Manager.
The Bengaluru-based startup is a communication platform aiming to facilitate organizational communication among employees. CEO Vishal Gahlaut said that they want organizational communication to be more inclusive, and that Noticeboard aims to empower frontline staff with real-time communication and make them participants of the knowledge economy, much like email did for desk workers.
The startup will use the newly raised investment to strengthen its design team, develop new products and technology, and hire a team for its mobile platform.
Earlier this year, Stellaris Venture Partners invested in Bengaluru-based SaaS performance startup, Whatfix, and mobile B2B marketplace, Wydr. Its funding to Noticeboard is part of Stellaris’ efforts to target India’s growing mobile and internet user population, which hit 465 million in June 2017.
(Top photo from Weiot website)